Unique
by firerwolf
Summary: Kelly 087 trains her soldiers in a couple special maneuvers. Inspired by the Titanfall beta.


Unique

Kelly-087 looked over the gathered Spartan-IVs, all standing in perfect lines and watching her. These Spartans had spent the last few weeks running drills that she herself had designed. Exercises that strengthened their legs, increased their reaction time, and tested their problem solving skills. The Spartans before her were the ones that had made it through that regiment and had done well. They would be the elite soldiers that she would teach most of her tricks to. She would try to teach them all of her tricks of course, but Kelly was well aware they couldn't keep up with her. No one could.

Kelly came to a stop before her soldiers and stood up tall. "Today you will be learning a skill that is special to the Rabbits." Kelly set her hands on her hips and smiled, able to see the light twitches of anticipation from a few of the soldiers. "War Games: load the example obstacle course." Behind Kelly a small course materialized, one she'd set up to show the Spartans what they'd learn. "This is a simple jump," she said, indicating the first platform. It was as high as a Spartan could jump and she easily leapt onto it. "This is a much higher jump, one that's too high for just a simple jump." Kelly motioned to the two-story high platform ahead of her. "It seems impossible to get up this high, but with precise use of the thrusters built into every MJOLNIR armor, it can be scaled with ease." Kelly took a small running start toward the wall, jumped, and at the apex of her jump she leaned back and activated her thrusters. She shot up into the air and as she reached the top she turned, grabbing the edge of the platform and lifting herself up onto the top. Kelly looked down at her soldiers who were all staring at her, and there were slight movements that indicated private conversations. "This is the first thing that you'll learn: the double-jump."

Kelly then cut off her Team COM and spoke directly to her AI. "Sapphire, give me a summary of their response."

"Elevated heart rate for the majority," Sapphire reported, its voice echoing in Kelly's helmet. "Overall it seems that there is fear of the daunting task, but also excitement and they seem impressed. A few are trying to shield their concerns with boastful talk, but their bio-signs say anything but confidence." Sapphire's voice was emotionless as always, and Kelly couldn't tell if the AI was annoyed or amused by the reaction of the Spartans. "Perhaps you should shut them up with your second demonstration." …Amused, the AI was diffidently amused.

"Once you've mastered the double-jump, I'll teach you the harder of the two techniques you'll be learning. Lower the platform so they'll be able to see." The platform lowered so Kelly was more at height with the gathered soldiers and they'd be able to see her clearly. "This is the most advanced thruster maneuver you'll be learning." Kelly tapped her foot against the platform she was standing on. "Starting roof." She pointed about ten yards away to another platform. "End roof. Even with a jump, and then a boosted double-jump, that length can't be crossed. But I'm not going to jump the gap." Kelly moved back and took a running start. She dashed and jumped, moving to a solid wall to the side of the gap. She used her forward momentum and ran along the wall. When she felt her momentum waning she waited until she was mid stride, both feet off the surface, angled herself and hit her thruster. She used the momentum to reach the other end of the wall and with a strong kick off of the surface jumped over to the end platform. Kelly landed solidly, stopping in place with ease. "That is the wall-dash," she said as she looked down to the Spartans.

"That shut them up," Sapphire commented, Kelly automatically filling in the satisfied tone the AI lacked. "How would you like to proceed?"

"Bring up enough walls for pairs," Kelly instructed before she switched to her external speakers. "Find a partner and start practicing the double-jump. Remember to wait until you're at the peak of your jump before using the thrusters." Kelly moved to the edge of the platform and jumped down to ground level. Multiple platforms sprung up from the ground and the Spartans split into pairs, choosing positions and starting to practice.

Kelly wasn't sure what she'd expected from the soldiers, but after an hour she had hoped to see more progress. A couple had managed to grab the ledge, but they had yet to pull themselves up onto the surface. All the others were still slamming themselves against the sides of the platforms. Kelly stood to the side, picking out what each of them was doing wrong. Mostly they were just getting the angle wrong, but it was the most important part of the maneuver.

Kelly looked to her left as Linda joined her, watching the soldiers. "If they keep hitting their heads so hard they'll be senseless and unable to think in combat." Linda looked around at the soldiers and then back to Kelly. "What are they doing anyway?"

"Doing the double-jump I recently thought up. You use the thruster pack to launch up to the top of the platform," Kelly explained. "I think I'm going to have to do a lesson where they just learn how to position themselves."

"Using a thruster pack to get a boost when jumping," Linda mused. "How'd you come up with that?" Kelly shrugged, not really sure what to tell her friend, as she didn't know what had sparked the idea. "I wonder if I could use that technique to get to higher sniper spots."

"It might work if you were really far away from the enemy, or the sound would give you away." Kelly watched as one of the Spartans completely screwed up their body position and slammed into another Spartan. Kelly watched them struggle to their feet, the one that had been knocked over obviously complaining to the Spartan that hit her.

"Don't you think they should call it quits for the day before someone gets hurt?" Linda asked, watching as another Spartan slammed his head against the solid wall, absolutely botching his initial jump.

"It will toughen them up, and they need that," Kelly responded, really hoping that at least one of them would get it right and she could end the lesson on a success. Kelly looked to Linda and found the other woman staring at her. "What?"

"Toughen them up?" Linda crossed her arms, but was still watching Kelly closely. "What exactly is that supposed to mean? Toughen them up for what? Toughen them up like you so they don't acknowledge their own injuries?"

Kelly scowled, hating Linda at that moment, but the hatred quickly dissolved into general annoyance. "A Rabbit needs to be able to take some damage, it's a dangerous job," Kelly explained. "You're first into the fire, and you have to stay at a hazardous distance to keep the enemy on you. An injury can't stop you; stopping means death." Linda continued to stare and Kelly knew that she was waiting for more. "Fine," Kelly finally gave in, caving under Linda's gaze. "John is out there, and there's a high possibility that I won't be the one to find him, it will be some Spartan-IVs. The least I can do is make sure that he has some tough backup to ensure he comes home." Still Linda continued to stare and now Kelly's annoyance was focused on her again. "What? There's nothing else to say."

"I was just thinking," Linda said, finally turning back to watching the Spartans. "What would the Spartans be without you? How would John have made it?" Kelly flinched, hurt by the words because she knew John had made it and that she hadn't been there for him. She'd always had his back, and just like that he'd proved he didn't need her. Still here she was, trying to give him support. "Five years."

Kelly cocked her head to the side and stared at the sniper. "Five years until what?"

"Five years - that's how long we would have lasted in the war without you," Linda answered casually. Kelly didn't really understand her logic, but she'd allow the other woman her own musings. "The Spartans are like a building; John is the ground floor, and all the other Spartans are stacked on his back. You were his support pillar, you kept him steady. Without that support a building may stay standing, but it can't weather the harshest things nature can throw at it and eventually it will crumble."

Kelly watched Linda, having always been aware that Linda watched the rest of them closely and always seemed to know the other Spartans in a way they missed. "I think you're overstating how much I support John. He proved that he doesn't need support to make it through hard times."

"He did manage with a Sergeant and a Sangheili, but how long do you think he would have lasted if all of that had been longer than about two months?" Kelly frowned, not sure how to answer Linda's question. She didn't really want to think about it, and she really didn't know. "None of these Spartan-IVs are going to be able to replace you, but if you get at least ten that are good backing up John maybe it will be enough. Or you could just make sure you're the one supporting him."

Kelly laughed and shook her head. "Yeah, because we get a lot of choice over our assignments," she joked. They'd never had any say in where they went or what missions they were sent on, but Kelly had never minded that. She trusted that the UNSC knew where they were most needed. "John will make it home, with or without me to back him up."

"And Fred and I will be making bets about how long he'll stick to you like glue." Linda's voice gave away her amused smile under the helmet.

"Why would John stick to me at all?" Kelly wondered.

"A few reasons," Linda began. "It's been years, and he knows nothing of this world after the war. He's going to have to readjust, and who better to learn and lean on than your best friend? When he gets home you'll be the one he's depending on. Another reason is that he's going to want that comfort, that familiarity. It's like a man that's been standing for days; all he wants to do is sit. That man would be grateful for anywhere to sit, but he'd prefer a soft, comfortable, and familiar chair over a hard metal one. You're a comfortable chair."

"I'm not a chair," Kelly complained, not liking being compared to furniture.

Linda ignored her and continued. "Fred leaned on you on Reach and after Onyx, knowing that when the world becomes shaky you keep things stable."

"I didn't know any more about what happened outside of Onyx than the rest of us. Beside, Fred leaned more on Kathleen about things than he did on me." Kelly tensed for a moment as one of the Spartans nearly reached the top platform - but his foot hit the wall, stalling him, and causing his finger to only brush the ledge before he fell back down.

"Kathleen isn't support, if anything she's destabilizing. She's boarding up the windows for the zombie apocalypse Serin is supposedly going to cause, when she's not kicking at Fred's foundation using that weird relationship she has with that Sangheili. What's his name? Wok?"

"Last time she told me about him, he was Homeless-Kitchen-Soup-Ladel." Kelly shrugged, not really caring much about Kathleen's friendship with the alien. Kathleen had always poked and prodded at Fred's foundations to make him tougher, so she didn't see this as any different. Still, Linda had brought up something that was bugging her. "Sapphire, can you give us a secure channel?"

"Channel secured," Sapphire responded. "You may talk freely."

Linda cocked her head quizzically at Kelly, confused by the action. "I'm not so sure Kathleen's paranoid," Kelly began. "I think she's holding something back. But I'm not sure if it's because she's protecting us, or is afraid we'll betray her."

"Why would she think we're going to betray her?" Linda seemed unsettled by the idea of a Spartan betraying another Spartan. "If she has concerns can't she go to Serin with them? She's a Spartan, we can trust her."

"Is she?" Kelly asked the question that had been bothering her for some time. Linda stiffened, which was an odd reaction for her. But even to Linda, a lone wolf, the Spartans were a trusted family. "The Serin that's leading ONI doesn't feel like the one that we knew. The way she talks, the way she sees things…and there's just something about the way she acts that doesn't say Spartan at all."

Linda thought for a moment and Kelly could only wait for her to finish. "She does hold herself differently," Linda finally said. "She holds herself…not like a Spartan. We're both formal around an officer, even Fred when he's giving orders, but when were casually talking we relax. Serin doesn't, she's always formal, even when the subject isn't."

Kelly nodded, understanding what Linda meant. "She just doesn't feel like a Spartan anymore, she feels more like and ONI Officer." Kelly shifted uncomfortably. Even thinking about a Spartan changing, not being a Spartan, felt unnatural. "Though it doesn't matter really; it doesn't change anything for us."

Linda was quiet for a moment before she shrugged. "If Kathleen might be right about Serin, what else might she be right about?"

That question made things worse, the implications of the ODST-spirited Spartan-II being right about more of her theories was shaking Kelly's belief in many things. Her mind quickly went to work, balancing out her trust in the UNSC with her sense of unease. "Well, Kathleen's theories all have to do with ONI, and she talks about ONI like it's completely different from the UNSC. So we trust the UNSC, there's no doubt there, but maybe we need to be a bit more cautious around ONI."

Linda nodded, crossing her arms."Agreed. Now I'm going to gather my soldiers, your time slot is almost done, and at this point it sort of looks like we're just two Spartans standing around and watching as some Spartan -IVs smack themselves into walls." Linda shook her head and moved away, toward the exit.

"Ma'am, there is talk among your recruits that you are just mocking them," Sapphire informed her.

"I did the jump, how would I be mocking them?" Kelly complained, letting out a frustrated sigh. She switched to her external speakers. "All right, stop!" The Spartans all stopped, turning their attention to her. "Apparently I'm going to have to teach you how to properly lean while jumping so you don't all look like you're in a race to get a concussion. That's it for today." The Spartans seemed ecstatic to get away, almost running out of the training room.

Kelly followed after them, walking at her normal brisk pace. "You might need to have more patience. This is a difficult task," Sapphire reasoned.

"It's not that hard. It only took me a few tries to get it," Kelly argued. She didn't see how it was a difficult task; any Spartan should be able to learn it. She was sure if Linda tried she'd get, it and was confident Kathleen or her soldiers would get it with relative ease as well.

"Yes, but you're special," Sapphire countered. Kelly wasn't sure if that was an insult or a compliment. "You adapt, can react faster, and have shown a knack for using equipment or vehicles in creative ways. Not all are as gifted as you."

"Is that a compliment?" Kelly asked, deciding to just ask for clarification.

"It is simply fact," Sapphire answered bluntly. Kelly stopped in her tracks, hit by a sudden feeling of sorrow. John used to say something similar, and in that moment it made her miss her best friend terribly. "I would like to pay you a complement, though."

Now Kelly's interest was piqued. Sapphire had never offered anything it called a complement, only facts and quotations of others. "Hit me with it."

"Humans are a very unique species," Sapphire began, confusing Kelly as she didn't see what that had to do with her. "We Smart AI get our unique qualities from the human minds that our logic-pathways are formed from. I hope that when you die, your mind is used to make a Smart AI - so that AI may be gifted by how particularly special you are."

Kelly digested the complement, not sure what to say. She was touched by the AI's words, even more so as such a thing was so rare from Sapphire. "Thank you, Sapphire."

"It is the greatest complement I can give," the AI explained.

Kelly smiled, and she turned and looked at the empty holo-training room. "Sapphire, load up the Ragnarock map; with a Mantis moving around the perimeter, and a Banshee flying patrol."

The world around her changed and she was suddenly standing beside a downed Pelican. "What exactly do you have planned?" Sapphire asked as a mantis appeared and started to walk about the map. A Banshee appeared over the cliffs above and started to circle around.

"Just planning some future lessons for the Spartan-IVs." Kelly moved toward the mantis at a full run, already calculating in her mind what approximate angle she'd need at her current speed and where best to jump from.

"Now you're just showing off," Sapphire quipped as Kelly flung herself at the vehicle, twisted in air, and fired her thruster.


End file.
